CPBL hopeful for redemptive season

The defending champion Uni-President Lions, who are eyeing their fourth straight league title, are scheduled to meet the Brother Elephants in the opening game at Taipei's Tienmu Stadium, with President Ma Ying-jeou scheduled to throw out the first ball.

But the focus of the season will not be on wins and losses.

Entering its 21st year, the four-team league hopes to build on the success and fanfare of the just-concluded exhibition series with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week to escape from the shadow of the game-fixing scandal, in which more than 30 current and former players, coaches and staff were expelled from the league.

“With a theme of 'Baseball with Heart,' the league hopes to regain fan support and encouragement, which is much needed at this critical time,” said Chao Shou-po, the commissioner of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

From 1990, the league's first year, to 2009, Taiwan prosecutors have launched five investigations on baseball game-fixing, involving a total of roughly 100 local and foreign players.

Baseball has remained Taiwan's national pastime, however, as some fans showed unwavering support and Taiwan's national team was still relatively competitive in international competitions during the period.

Those still in the league realize they don't have to look far for a brand new start. The only place where they can prove themselves is on the field.

“Life is boring without baseball,” Lions manager Lu Wen-sheng said, adding that the players have no option but to play hard to reward “a lot of fans who never left us when the league hit bottom.”

It will be a long and difficult season for the Brother Elephants, the perennial fan favorite that lost almost 20 players to the scandal and has had trouble putting together a five-man starting rotation. The La New Bears have had similar problems after losing about 10 players.

“I've told the players that I could care less about our record this year. The most important thing is to work hard and play your heart out on the field so the fans get their money's worth,” said Elephants manager Chen Jui-cheng.

The league will be counting on big-name players, such as a pair of star hitters — Peng Cheng-min of the Elephants and Chen Chin-feng of the Bears — to lead by example and keep the fans interested.

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